Nurses are an integral part of modern-day healthcare systems. They are responsible for providing high-quality care for their patients and must ensure that their workplace environment is healthy — one that promotes harmony, teamwork and collaboration among the staff members.
Nurse leaders can easily become an inspiration to others and foster a great workplace culture. Nurse leaders inspire others and establish a high bar for success by serving as role models, which increases appreciation for the nursing profession, enhances patient care and improves clinical outcomes. Therefore, nurses have a crucial responsibility of transforming their workplace environment into an innovative one.
Importance of a healthy workplace environment for nurses
A safe, secure and well-adjusted workplace is where management and staff collaborate to consistently improve everyone’s security, safety and well-being. The productivity of a firm may be significantly increased by doing this. Considering that individuals spend one-third of their lives at work, the workplace may substantially impact both psychological well-being and physical health.
In a risky workplace environment, neither healthcare staff nor patients can function adequately. Because the healthcare industry is patient-centered, it may be challenging for nurses to balance the quality of patient care with staff responsibilities. Nurses must work in a healthy and supportive workplace to develop better coping skills, minimize burnout and lower staff turnover.
The 21st century’s complex nursing and medical ecosystems are frequently affected by the constant changes in politics, economics and other variables. Nurse leaders cannot afford to be ignorant or neglectful in this environment. To realize their ambitions in constant change and innovation, they need the support of their employers.
Top 7 ways that nurses can become leaders
Below are some ways that nurses can become leaders in their workplace.
Be observant and alert
The deadliest enemy of a nurse leader is complacency. Complacency is a setting for lagging behind the times, from the development of ICD-10 to gradual and enormous improvements in the empirical evidence foundation for many parts of nursing practice.
Harassment, abuse, and a toxic work environment are terrible blights that weaken team cohesiveness, raise nurse attrition and jeopardize the safety of patients and results. A nursing leader who chooses to ignore them is complicit in the crime.
A nurse leader must be well aware of all the latest developments in scientific literature since the evidence basis for many of the jobs that nurses perform every day is constantly changing. In many institutions, completing things in the same manner for a long time might be the standard, but it does not make it right.
For overworked nurses and other healthcare professionals, a transition may be challenging, and we tend to get too used to our routines for psychologically normal reasons. A nurse leader’s role is to always be aware of how everything functions. A lot of information is lost in translation when a nurse manager is unaware of the culture of the units she or he oversees.
Have an organizational outlook
A nurse with the capacity to be a brilliant leader may find their path blocked in the hierarchical realms of the nursing field, academia or research by an administration that is solely concerned with the bottom line of money. On the other hand, another bottom line (i.e., the patients) is in desperate need of equal and prompt attention.
Every type of healthcare system needs middle-level staff nurses that are proactive thinkers, highly skilled and always alert to their surroundings. However, such nurses require the executives who oversee them to support and value their initiatives and goals. Nurse leaders can quickly become the support system nurses need to excel in their duties and careers.
Cultivating healthy relationships
It is known that modern-day nursing is based on a multidisciplinary approach, which means collaborating and working with professionals from different departments to provide high-quality care to patients. To achieve this, nurses must possess the ability to create long-lasting and strong relationships with their colleagues and peers.
Getting to know your fellow nurses and learning about their strengths and weaknesses is essential. In this way, you will be able to use their skills in a time of need and help them overcome their shortcomings by transferring your knowledge and experience to them.
In-depth knowledge of nursing practices
As mentioned above, scientific and medical research is ever-evolving, which means it is constantly improving to bring forth new knowledge and techniques to improve patient treatment and experiences. As a result, nurse professionals must keep themselves up to date with all the advancements in scientific research and in-depth knowledge of nursing and healthcare to make well-informed and evidence-based decisions. Nurses with tight schedules can benefit from online DNP nursing courses that offer flexibility to study at one’s own pace, and Baylor is a great place to start.
Think from different angles
Just because something has always been done a certain way doesn’t mean it is the best or only way to do it. Developing listening and thinking skills on the job is crucial since they may result in original, creative working methods. Pay close attention when a colleague expresses their point of view and make sure they feel acknowledged and appreciated for their contribution. Being a progressive nurse means learning to be adaptable and receptive to fresh viewpoints and ideas, as nursing is a field that is constantly evolving.
Achieving personal and professional balance
Being a successful nurse leader requires more than just one or two skills. An outstanding nurse is motivated with the proper strength, tenacity and adaptability. Furthermore, nurses must make time for their private life. Caregiver burnout and poor performance at work might result from focusing too much on your work.
Acknowledge the hard work of your co-workers
After a stressful and demanding day at work, acknowledge your team’s accomplishments to reduce stress. Simple gestures of appreciation, such as taking coworkers out to lunch or sending gratitude messages with vouchers for coffee, may demonstrate how much the team is valued. You just need to show your colleagues that you think of them all as essential assets and valuable contributors without having to do anything fancy.
